Higher Education in India has been highly abused, beaten up and taken advantage of by politicians across party lines. It is amongst those few sectors in the country that are very highly regulated, not because there is a need to regulate this sector, but more because regulating this sector suits the interests of these very politicians.
Our very respectable and credible Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh set up the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) in 2005 with a time-frame of three years, from October 2005 to October 2008. The National Knowledge Commission, meant to be a high-level advisory body to Mr. Manmohan Singh, was given a mandate to guide policy and direct reforms, focusing on certain key areas such as education, amongst others.
I presume the objective of giving this advisory commission a three year time frame was for Mr. Manmohan Singh to take the first few steps, in his term as a Prime Minister, to transform India as a global knowledge hub.
It has been sometime since the NKC has submitted its report to the Prime Minister, asking for substantial changes in the regulatory framework in this country. The membership of the NKC has some very notable names and the NKC has gone about meeting all stake holders prior to coming to conclusion and preparing its report. Hence, I would imagine, the report submitted by the NKC must and should automatically deserve respect and action taken on the recommendations made.
It is almost depressing to note that another committee has been set up, called the ‘Committee for Rejuvenation and Renovation of Higher Education’ for the review of UGC/AICTE. This committee from what I understand, has, as expected, made very similar recommendations as that of the NKC. (I don’t understand why is it that a Committee is set up to review another committee’s report(!)?)
In 1991, after IMF had bailed out our bankrupt state, the government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh started breakthrough reforms, which helped India in 2007 to reach a growth rate of 9%. Serious educationists have been arguing for an end to ‘license raj’ for many years now. On the face of it, the education sector permits 100% Foreign Direct Investment, but the regulatory bodies insist that the constitution of institutions imparting education must be that of a Charitable Trust or a Society (!).
I believe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lost a huge opportunity to end the license raj and liberate the education sector. The potential was clearly there and who knows if he will get another opportunity as a Prime Minister. After 18 years of ending the industrial license raj, the country is seeing its benefits.. I am certain, with the end of the education license raj, the country will start seeing India transform into a Knowledge economy faster than people imagine.
Having stated that, I believe, it is only a matter of time and once the new government comes in, they will need to look at the education sector, which undeniably is one of the core drivers of growth for the country. Various industry bodies including the FICCI and CII have been putting a strong case for the liberalization of the education sector. In a conference with Mr. Sam Pitroda organised by FICCI, I asked how long he thought it would take to for his recommendations on de-regulation of education to be accepted – he said he was certain these would be accepted, but could not comment on how long it would take. He added it could take anywhere from 6 months to 25 years! I sincerely hope, for the sake of this country, that these recommendations are accepted in 6 months and we don’t have to wait for another 25 years.
Our very respectable and credible Prime Minister of India, Mr. Manmohan Singh set up the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) in 2005 with a time-frame of three years, from October 2005 to October 2008. The National Knowledge Commission, meant to be a high-level advisory body to Mr. Manmohan Singh, was given a mandate to guide policy and direct reforms, focusing on certain key areas such as education, amongst others.
I presume the objective of giving this advisory commission a three year time frame was for Mr. Manmohan Singh to take the first few steps, in his term as a Prime Minister, to transform India as a global knowledge hub.
It has been sometime since the NKC has submitted its report to the Prime Minister, asking for substantial changes in the regulatory framework in this country. The membership of the NKC has some very notable names and the NKC has gone about meeting all stake holders prior to coming to conclusion and preparing its report. Hence, I would imagine, the report submitted by the NKC must and should automatically deserve respect and action taken on the recommendations made.
It is almost depressing to note that another committee has been set up, called the ‘Committee for Rejuvenation and Renovation of Higher Education’ for the review of UGC/AICTE. This committee from what I understand, has, as expected, made very similar recommendations as that of the NKC. (I don’t understand why is it that a Committee is set up to review another committee’s report(!)?)
In 1991, after IMF had bailed out our bankrupt state, the government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh started breakthrough reforms, which helped India in 2007 to reach a growth rate of 9%. Serious educationists have been arguing for an end to ‘license raj’ for many years now. On the face of it, the education sector permits 100% Foreign Direct Investment, but the regulatory bodies insist that the constitution of institutions imparting education must be that of a Charitable Trust or a Society (!).
I believe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lost a huge opportunity to end the license raj and liberate the education sector. The potential was clearly there and who knows if he will get another opportunity as a Prime Minister. After 18 years of ending the industrial license raj, the country is seeing its benefits.. I am certain, with the end of the education license raj, the country will start seeing India transform into a Knowledge economy faster than people imagine.
Having stated that, I believe, it is only a matter of time and once the new government comes in, they will need to look at the education sector, which undeniably is one of the core drivers of growth for the country. Various industry bodies including the FICCI and CII have been putting a strong case for the liberalization of the education sector. In a conference with Mr. Sam Pitroda organised by FICCI, I asked how long he thought it would take to for his recommendations on de-regulation of education to be accepted – he said he was certain these would be accepted, but could not comment on how long it would take. He added it could take anywhere from 6 months to 25 years! I sincerely hope, for the sake of this country, that these recommendations are accepted in 6 months and we don’t have to wait for another 25 years.
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